20th Oct 2014 06:31
LONDON (Alliance News) - Irish drugmaker Shire PLC Monday said it had started an immediate search for a new chief financial officer, after James Bowling, who was interim CFO, decided to leave to become CFO Of Severn Trent.
In a statement, Shire said Bowling will leave at the end of the first quarter of 2015.
In a separate statement, water company Severn Trent confirmed that Bowling will be joining, after current CFO Mike McKeon gave notice that he has decided to retire with effect from spring 2015. McKeon will be staying in post to ensure an orderly handover, it added.
The news comes just days after a GBP32 billion takeover attempt on Shire by AbbVie of the US looked to have broken down after the US government moved to close tax rules that had made the deal more beneficial for the US company previously.
"I consider myself to have been extremely fortunate to have had Mike's fantastic support and wise counsel during this, my first year at Severn Trent and I will be truly sorry to lose him. As well as being a delight to work with, he has been instrumental in driving the success of Severn Trent since his appointment in 2005 and leaves us well positioned for the future," Severn Trent Chief Executive Liv Garfield said in the statement.
Severn Trent added that it has decided to cut the size of its board to eight, from 11, to drive its effectiveness. There will be two executive directors and six non-executives from January 23, 2015.
Tony Ballance, Martin Kane and Andy Smith will cease to be executive directors, it said,
By Steve McGrath; [email protected]; @stevemcgrath1
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